INDIAN HEAD -- Last night's Class 1A-2A South Region duals title match at Lackey, ranked No. 4 in the state, was the Charles County school's fourth meeting with Hammond, ranked No. 5 in the state.

But the visiting Bears (15-1), ranked No. 3 in The Sun, hadn't seen Lackey like this: From 140 down, every wrestler dropped a weight class.

Lackey (15-1) kept the bouts close in those low weight classes, then took advantage up top in a 39-17 victory that prevented the Columbia school (15-2) from defending its duals title and sent the Chargers to Saturday's dual-meet championships at North Carroll.

But it was 15-6, Lackey, after Chris Robertson (130) ended a tight bout with his buzzer-beating pin of Mick Carbo, and Andrew Kmieciak (135) countered Danny Embrey for an overtime takedown and a 6-4 decision.

Hammond rebounded for a 17-15 lead on a technical fall by Mark Read (140) and a fall by No. 4 Josh Zillmer (145, 28-1), a three-time Howard County champ, but Lackey regained it permanently, 18-17, on a major decision by Luke Hannah (152).